a    all     am    an   and    at    away    

big     can    come     did    do    for    

get     go    going    have    he    her    

here  his     I   in    is    it    just      like    little   look    me   my    no    of     on    play  

 said    see   she  so    some     that    the    

then    them   they   this    to     up   us   

want   was   we     went    will   with     you  

Sight words are words that are found frequently in reading and your child should be able to identify them quickly.  Some words may be able to be sounded out while others don't follow traditional spelling patterns. Your child should practice sight words frequently. Some ideas for practicing sight words are:

• Swat- your child swat the correct word.  You can also let him/her swat a word and then read that word to you.  When your child knows several words have him/her swat words to form a sentence. Materials: 1. index cards with sight words 2. flyswatter or other swatting device.

• Sentence Cut-up—Write several sight words on a piece of paper to form a sentence.  Have your child read the sentences.  Make this activity harder by writing several sight words on index cards and let you child put the cards in the correct order to form a sentence. Materials: 1. index cards with sight words 2. piece of paper and pencil.

•  Hunt and Find—Throw index cards (with sight words written on them) on the floor.  Ask your child to find and get a specific sight word.

•  Magnetic Letters—Have child create sight words (from a list or flash cards) with magnetic letters on a cookie sheet or the refrigerator. Materials: 1. index cards with sight words 2. magnetic letters 3. cookie sheet or other metal surface

• Memory—Write the sight words on index cards.  Lay the cards face down like a grid.  As you lay down the words let you child see the word and where it is placed.  Call out a word and see if your child can locate the word.  If he/she turns over the wrong word have him/her read the word he/she turned over and continue to hunt for the correct word.  Make the game harder by adding more words. Materials: 1. index cards with sight words

•  Tic-Tac-Toe—Play Tic-Tac-Toe but the new rules are that you can only write an X or O if you can read the sight word. Materials: 1. paper to write Tic-Tac-Toe board with sight words 2. writing instruments (pen, pencil, etc.)

•  Detective—Look in newspapers for sight words.  Circle them in pen.  Count how many you can find.  Look for the sight words in books also. Materials: 1. index cards with sight words 2. newspapers 3. pen

•  One Letter at a Time—Begin writing a sight word on a white board or paper.  Let the child guess what the word is before you get the whole word written. Materials: 1. index cards with sight words 2. white board or paper 3. dry eraser markers or pen

•  Jump on It—Write the sight words on index cards and place them on the floor.  Call out a word and have the child jump on it.  If he/she jumps on the wrong word then he/she needs to read the word jumped on and try again.  When the child jumps on the correct word, the child can then pick up the card and create a collection.  Count the number of words collected at the end of the activity. Materials: 1. index cards with sight words

•  Rainbow Letters—Let you child copy a sight word onto paper (this in not a spelling test) using different colored crayons or markers.  Tell your child to write the word large so that he/she can trace the word with his/her finger over and over again. Materials: 1. index cards with sight words 2. paper 3. crayons or markers

•  Read My Back—Give you child two index cards with sight words on them.  Tell him/her that you are going to write one of the words on his/her back with your finger.  He/she needs to guess which word was written on his/her back.  Make the game harder by not giving the sight word cards as a word bank. Materials: 1. index cards with sight words

•  Word Cut-up—Make two sight word cards for each word.  Cut one of the cards apart by the letter.  Place each set into a plastic bag.  Let your child make the word by putting the letters in the correct order.  Use the word that was not cut apart to see if the word was spelled correctly.  Or you may give the child the uncut card to lay the cut letters on top of the sight word. Materials: 1. two sets of index cards with sight words (cut-up one set up) 2. plastic bag

•  Dot Game—You and your child can play the traditional dot game by connecting the dots and writing initials when the sight word is read. Materials: 1. paper to create dot game board with sight words 2. pens or pencils

•  Sight Words— Your child can use stamps and an ink pad to spell the sight words on paper.  Another idea is to have the students stamp the words onto Play-doh (without using ink.) Materials: 1. paper  2. ink pad   3. stamps  4. Play-doh

•    Shaving Cream- Your child can write the sight words in the shaving cream after it has        been spread on the table.  Materials: 1.  shaving cream

•  I Spy A Sight Word- Write the sight words on index cards and place them on the floor.  Begin the game by saying, “I spy the word  ____”.  If your child finds the word,then he/she can have a turn spying.  This can also be played in the bathtub if you own bath crayons.

•  Play coin toss - words on floor – each person takes a turn to toss a coin onto a word and say that word

•   Play who am I? Example:. I am a four letter word.  I begin with the letter L.  I rhyme with bike.

•  Make a letter twister chart with chalk on a concrete floor, children place their feet and hands on the letters to spell the sight words.

• Help your child make their own Sight word dictionary using photocopied small words and scrapbooks labeled with a letter of alphabet on each page... words can be added to throughout the year

• How Many Seconds? Lay the sight words cards on a table or floor.  How many seconds does it take your child to find a certain word?

• Play dominoes using same end letter/ beginning letter

• Find the smaller word- have your child circle the smaller word within words using whiteboard marker on laminated word card (example they)

•   Your child can go outside and practice writing their words with chalk on the concrete

•   Flashlight words – put the sight word cards on the floor and turn off lights – Call out a word and have the child use a flashlight to look for the word

•  Play stepping stones - place words on the floor and children walk over them saying the word as they go to get to the other side of the stream

• Play musical words – Your whole family can play this game.  Begin by passing out words to each player.  Start playing the music. When the music stops, each player must say the word he/she is holding - can be played with 1 or more words.

• Go on a word walk - find words around the environment - signs etc.

•  Make sight words using Play-doh

•  Make sight words using string gluing

• Make sight words using stencils

• Make sight words using alphabet stamps  

•  Beat the clock - how many words they can read in 1 minute

• Sight word Hide-and-seek- hide the sight words cards throughout a room.  Call out a   word for your child to find.  (This works well if your hands are busy cooking dinner, etc.)

• Play go-fish with the sight words.  Print out two copies of each word, paste them on index cards, attach matching stickers to each card (you can use a different stick for each word so that if he/she doesn't know the word he/she can ask for the card by sticker) and then laminate the cards with clear shelf paper.